Becoming a Man
by Back.In.Reverse
Summary: Naruto is a twelve year old boy living with the Inuzuka tribe and has yet to prove his manhood. All his friends have already completed the task, but now its his turn! After completing the ceremony, will he finally find his place in the tribe? Potential sasunaru fanfic, island/jungle


**Hey Everyone,**

 **I can't decide if this is a prologue or a one shot, kind want it to be a prologue but that requires effort on my part and I don't know if I can even write a story taking place in the jungle with native people. Thats what this was, to see if I could do it so you'll have to be the judge of that!**

 **Author's Note:**

 **The Inuzuka tribe has a becoming a man ceremony where the young boy goes out into the jungle, steals a wolf pup from its mother (when old enough, obviously) without harming the mom, takes it back to the tribe and raises it to be a the boy-now-man's spirit animal partner in life.**

 **Hope you all enjoy the story! Read my footnote for more details about the fanfic!**

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Oneshot/Potenial Prologue

Rain pelted down from the sky, dripping off the green leaves of the tall trees. A twelve year old blond boy sat in his hut watching the onslaught of drizzling rain sprinkle on all the puddles outside his makeshift home of dried grass. A drop on water leaked from the roof and plopped onto his nose. His tan hand wiped off the liquid and he yelped when the straw-made roof gave way under the weight of the heavy rain.

" _Chemuph-taijk_!" Naruto cursed as he was completely drenched in cold rainwater. He quickly stood up and abandoned his pathetic excuse of shelter and raced across the muddy rainforest ground towards the village.

The wet blond nearly slipped when he approached the longest hut, a well built structure that was designed to take such heavy rainfall. "HEY!" Naruto shouted from outside the chief's home, his tan arms wrapped firmly around his naked torso in an attempt to keep warm. He stood there, shivering in the onslaught of rain, and could almost feel the narrow gazes of the rest of the tribe watching him from their own huts.

Naruto bit his lip as he continued to shake in from the cold wind pelting him with heavy rain.

"OI! OLD PERVERT!" He shouted again, his voice almost lost in the sound of the rain.

Slowly, his cerulean eyes could see the white hair of his chief slowly making his way towards the entrance of the hut.

"What do you want, brat?" Jiraiya asked from inside his home, arms crossed.

"My shelter broke again." Naruto sputtered, his lips turning purple from the cold.

Jiraiya's expression didn't change. The red tattoos that started from his eyes and streamed down to his jawline didn't even wrinkle.

"Could I-" Naruto started, but was cut off by Jiraiya's booming voice.

"YOU ARE NOT A CHILD ANYMORE, NARUTO!" The blond winced at the tone and slowly lowered his arms down to his sides, his hands clenched into fists.

Naruto stared angrily at the mud seeping through his toes. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off again.

"DO NOT TALK BACK TO ME! DO NOT THINK YOU ARE SPECIAL BECAUSE I TOOK YOU INTO THIS VILLAGE!" Jiraiya yelled over the pouring rain, his voice ringing over the camp.

Naruto bit his tongue in order to stop himself from yelling back.

"YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH TO FEND FOR YOURSELF! YOUR PEERS HAVE ALREADY EARNED THEIR MANHOOD, YET YOU STILL HAVEN'T!"

Naruto winced at the reminder of his failure. It wasn't his fault though! Kiba and everyone else teamed up together to steal the wolf pups from the pack on the mountain. When Naruto had finally found the den, he was met with a very angry mother wolf, which he managed to escape from. Had he killed the wolf, then he _really_ would be outcasted from the Inuzuka tribe.

"You can come back to me asking for favors when you've earned your red fangs." Jiraiya said, turning his back on the boy at his doorstep.

Naruto felt tears well up his eyes at the rejection. He stood there in the rain, not budging from his spot. It hurt. Jiraiya was the only one who still considered Naruto as a member of tribe after his mother and father had died. This parents had made a sturdy home on the other side of the mountain, but Naruto refused to go back there, the memories of his parents were still to fresh though it had been four years since they joined the stars of the ancestors.

"FINE!" Naruto shouted, yelling both at Jiraiya and the other tribe members that continued to watch him from the shelter of their homes that they refuse to offer to him.

The blond bolted from his spot and ran into the jungle, tears streaming down his face. The rain continued to pour down making the ground slippery, causing the boy to slide across the mud every now and then.

If Jiraiya wanted him to prove his manhood, then that is what Naruto was going to do! He didn't need help from Kiba or any of his friends, he could do this on his own!

" _Maswekli-ehlo-tek_!" Naruto screamed into the jungle as he came to a stop, his arms reaching for the nearest tree trunk to support his tired body. He panted heavily, gripping the slippery bark. It was much harder to maneuver in the rain because it took more energy to not fall and slip, plus the horrible weather took a beating on the body.

" **Grrrph~"** Naruto froze. His cerulean eyes widened like saucers as he slowly turned around.

He slowly swallowed the lump in his throat as his eyes landed on the massive panther coming towards him through the tall green brush.

" **Khee!"** The black panther hissed, baring its fangs at the blond. Naruto prayed silently in his mind that his parents take his soul if he didn't live through this.

Slowly, Naruto took a deep breath and did the only thing he could do. He ran.

Naruto raced through the jungle with the panther pounding after him. He cursed every time his foot would slide or get caught a vine. This was not the time for stumbling, _Hethlinqui!_

The twelve year old boy quickly jumped over a log when suddenly his foot caught the rim and he fell. His body tumbled across the ground when abruptly the ground disappeared. Naruto opened his subconsciously closed cerulean eyes and watched as he fell into a dark hole.

His back scrapped against the sides of the rocks as he fell into the narrow crevasse. Naruto let a pained grunt as his back hit the solid ground. His vision swam and pain erupted from the back of his head. Rain continued to pour from the sky as he laid there trying to recuperate.

Slowly he tried to remember how he ended up in the bottom of a pit. " **GRRAAWR!"** Naruto's body tensed as reality slapped him back in the face. He quickly sat upon and groaned as pain coursed through his body from his head. He glanced upwards and saw the panther growling and pacing from the edge of pit.

Naruto let a shakey laugh as he realized the hole was too deep for the big cat land safely down and chase him. He shivered as the cold wind suddenly reminded of how cold he was. The boy rubbed his arms relentlessly trying to create warmth on his wet skin.

His cerulean eyes gazed upwards at the panther, blinking fiercely as the rain continued to pour down and over the edges of the pit.

He waited, standing there in the rain watching the panther growl in frustration until it finally gave up and left the blond in the hole. Naruto waited an extra couple of minutes for the panther to make some distance between them before attempting to climb out of the gaping crevasse in the earth.

The twelve year old reached for the nearest sturdy vine and slowly climbed his way out. He gripped the edges the pit and pulled himself over, covering himself in mud. The blond rolled over the rim and laid there, panting from exertion.

He let out a laugh. Leave it to him to fall into a hole and save his life. He slowly sat up and hesitantly touched the back of his head. He gasped from the tenderness and looked at his fingers. " _Chemuph-taijk…"_ he groaned at the sight of blood on his tan digits.

He sighed and shivered from the cold. "Can't go back now," he muttered sadly. He sat in the rain, soaking himself and his garments.

Naruto stood up and walked in the jungle, too tired to care now if he stumbled into more trouble. At this rate he should just give up trying so hard to fit in. If it wasn't for his hair and blue eyes he wouldn't be outcasted. Naruto bit his lip at the thought. If his parents had actually been tribe members his life wouldn't be so difficult.

It's not like the tribe doesn't let him in on ceremonial events or let him eat with them, in fact, they let him participate in the dances. But there is an invisible barrier that separates him from the tribe. They know it and he knows it too.

He was an outsider to them and while always be until he proves that he is an Inuzuka warrior despite his non-Inuzuka appearance!

Naruto clenched his hands into fists and let out a scream. The birds in the trees squaked from the sudden outburst but quickly calmed down.

" _Grraaah~"_ came a quiet growl. Naruto stopped in his muddy tracks. He looked around for the source of the sound. He wasn't stupid, he knew what that sound was. The boy took a step behind him and heard the small growl again. He smirked.

Naruto slowly walked over to the old tree that had fallen years ago and the growling persisted. Naruto let a laugh as he crawled under it and grabbed the animal by its scruff.

" _Khee!"_ the panther cub hissed at the blond, baring its small fangs.

"Well look at you." Naruto teased as he laughed at the plump cub as it tried to struggle against the hold the boy had on him. Naruto grinned a toothy smile at the black panther. "Fiesty little guy."

He frowned for a second before checking to make sure that it was in fact a male. "Okay so you are a guy." Naruto stuck his tan finger in the side of the cub's mouth to feel for back teeth and yelped when the young panther bit down on his finger. " _Chemuph-taijk!"_ he hissed in pain jerking his hand back. He glanced down at his digit and saw blood trickling down his hand.

The boy stuck his wounded finger into his mouth and sucked. "Old enof tow bite old enof tow be wit out modder" Naruto said as he took the cub with him back to the village. He grinned as he thought about what Kiba's face would look like when he came back with a panther cub. Catching and training wolf pups are what is traditionally done to prove manhood in the Inuzuka, but catching a panther cub, the biggest jungle predator's offspring and raising it to be a spiritual guide is what chiefs do.

Naruto lifted the panther in front of him by its armpits as he continued to walk. The cub glared at him with his yellow eyes. "Grouchy little thing, huh? I'm going to call you...Kurama!" Naruto declared. The black cat flattened its ears and hissed at him.

* * *

Nighttime, two days later...

 _Thump-tham-thum-thump-thump!..thump-thump!...Thadump-tham-thud-thump!_

Young women and men beated the drums in a circle around the outskirts on the ceremonial fire and the elders sat beside them and sang the song of the boy who became a man by taming the big black cat of the jungle.

Naruto sat in front of the large fire as experienced warriors danced around it, his heart pounding against his chest. This was it! The day he became a man.

" _HEAKKAJGMETI!"_ Jiraiya called and the dancing, singing abruptly stopped. Silence surrounded the camp except for the sounds of the jungle calling through the night.

Naruto stared up at the old man with mass white spiky hair, dressed in the ceremonial outfit of chiefs. Jiraiya held up his hands to the stars and closed his eyes.

"Elders...Warriors...Wifes...Children...and Ancestors," He addressed the tribe, "Tonight we witness the growth of a young boy who faced great dangers to prove his right to become a man," Jiraiya lowered his hands to point at the blond.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said, looking directly at the boy. Naruto's heart leapt in his chest. "Do you swear on the pride of your ancestors and your future lineage, that you will protect this tribe and its people from all outward harm?"

"I will protect them with my blood, body and soul!" Naruto shouted.

"Will you make your family with this tribe and give them a good and happy life?" Jiraiya demanded.

"I will give them the best and make them proud to be my family!" Naruto shouted.

"Will you take the name Inuzuka as your own and become a member of this tribe?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto hesitated. All eyes on the tribe were on him now, this was his moment to say what he wanted.

"I will not take the Inuzuka name because I do not want to forget my ancestors! I want to be a member of this tribe!" Naruto cried out, hoping his plea would mean something to the elders.

Jiraiya stared at him before glancing to the elders along the edge of the circle. "Will the elders accept the change in oath?"

The old men and women sat in silence. Naruto looked at them with worry in his eyes. "We accept the change," Hiruzen, the previous chief, spoke startling everyone.

Jiraiya nodded, and turned his attention back to the blond. "I will now begin the sacred coming of age tattooing," he declared loudly as he approached the kneeling boy. The old man got down on the ground, crossed legged, and grabbed the bowl of black ink with the sharpened needle attached to a stick.

The women softly began to sing a traditional tattooing song as the men began to pat on the drums.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes awaiting the pain. He winced at the first jab but remained completely still as his chief tattooed his cheeks. The process was slow and he could feel the thorn puncture through his skin. The singing gradually became louder as the tattooing continued until Jiraiya finally completed his task.

Naruto waited for another sting to hit his face when suddenly, none came. He opened his cerulean eyes to find Jiraiya grinning back at him. The chief stood and grabbed Naruto, dragging him up to his feet.

"I now declare you, Naruto Uzumaki, Member of the Inuzuka, Warrior in Training, and Potential Chief of the Inuzuka Tribe!" Jiraiya's voice boomed over the singing and could be heard throughout the jungle.

The tribe cheered and Naruto stood there, stunned. "Ch...chief?" He whispered under his breath so low that no one heard.

Kiba, the grandson of Jiraiya and next in line to be chief, came up from the crowd of dancing natives, his own cheeks recently tattooed with red fangs, holding Kurama, laughing. "Looks like we just became rivals, huh, Whiskers?" Kiba barked handing Kurama over to the confused blond. "Well me and Akamaru aren't going to lose to you!" the thirteen year old brunet proclaimed, picking up the small wolf pup that was following close behind him.

Naruto smirked. "We'll see about that, Dog Breath."

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 **I can't decide if I should roll with this fanfic or not, I still need to finish Made to Break...**

 **This would obviously be a SasuNaru fanfic, but the plot is still up in the air. It could be taking place on a island and Sasuke is a part of a team when he gets lost and runs into Naruto and his panther Kurama,**

 **or**

 **Sasuke is exploring the Amazon, looking for a specific snake species when he runs into Naruto and his panther Kurama.**

 **Either way, Sasuke is going to run into Badass Native Naruto and his Big Black Panther Kurama.**

 **Please leave a Review with your thoughts on the fanfic, should it be a prologue, if so, what should the plot be like? Love to hear what your ideas are!  
**

 **I'm also totally down for anyone wanting to use the idea of native tattooing as the reason for Naruto's whiskers! if you decide to use the idea, lemme know! I wanna read it!**


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